Famobil

Famobil (pronounced with an accent on the "o", fa-mó-bil) was the brand of the Spanish toy company Famous licensee of the German Playmobil to manufacture and distribute its products in Spain and Portugal between 1976 and 1983. Its name used the first two syllables of "Famosa" and the last two from "Playmobil".

Starting in June 1983, Playmobil Ibérica was founded and Playmobil began to directly manufacture and distribute its products in Spain. The Famobil factory, which was located in Onil (Alicante), became the property of Playmobil and in This place was the headquarters of Playmobil Ibérica S.A.U. According to data from January 2010, Playmobil Ibérica is one of the main branches of the German firm, for which it manufactures 15 toy references. Its production is, according to statistics, between 7% and 15% of world production.

Differences between Famobil and Playmobil

Famobil baptized its dolls with the name "click" for male dolls and "clack" for female dolls (although the latter was never very popular). In the original Playmobil products they were interchangeably called "klicky". The name "click" It was used both on the boxes and in catalogs and advertising of the time, popularizing the toy with the name "Famobil Clicks", which explains why with the change from Famobil to Playmobil the expression ' 34;Playmobil clicks. In 1981, when Playmobil evolved and the first children's figures appeared, the boxes indicated that they contained "miniclicks" and "miniclacks".

On Famobil parts it is common to find the Famobil logo engraved (a circle divided in two with an "f" in the center), this mark could be seen both on the construction parts and on the soles of the figures' feet. But there are also pieces marked with a 'b', the logo of Geobra Brandstätter GmbH, the German company that owns Playmobil. In this way, it can be deduced that Famobil manufactured parts with its own molds but also used German molds, or received parts manufactured in Germany. Starting in 1983, figures with the Famobil logo continued to appear in Playmobil boxes.

Focusing on the figure specifically, the clicks made in Onil with Famobil molds differed from the German ones by the fact that they had the Famobil logo on the sole of the left foot next to the inscription "Geobra". The Famobil “click” will therefore have an "f" in a circle followed by the word "geobra" while in a "click" of Playmobil you will see the "b" by Geobra. On the other foot "1974" usually appears, the year in which the piece was registered.

As for the hands of the Famobil, they were always rigid and the same color as the arm, except in some motorcyclist boxes and in children, who always had mobile and pinkish hands.

The references manufactured by Famobil usually coincide with those of Playmobil from Germany at the same time, although there are references from both countries.

Famobil products are highly appreciated by Playmobil collectors because their quality is similar to that of Playmobil and because they were sold exclusively in Spain and Portugal.

Subsequent registration of the Famobil trademark

The toy company, Falomir, registered the Famobil brand in Spain in 2007 and later the Murcian Boys Toys acquired it to market, starting in 2009, figure toys and all their imported accessories very similar to those of the German group. In 2013, at the request of Geobra, owner of Playmobil, which filed a lawsuit, the Commercial Court No. 2 of Alicante declared the Famobil brand null and void, “due to incompatibility” with the Playmobil brands.